Whitetip soldierfish
Myripristis vittata
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Whitetip soldierfish
- Scientific
- Myripristis vittata
- Dhivehi
- ދަންބޮޑުDhanbodu
- Group
- Reef fish
- Maximum size
- Up to about 25 cm (total length); max. published weight 1190 g (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 18 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 3 to 100 m (usually 15 to 80 m)
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2015
Description
A small orange-red soldierfish with white tips to the spiny dorsal fin, white leading edges to the other fins and no dark bar on the gill cover. It forms large groups in caves and under ledges on steep drop-offs, often swimming upside down along the cave roof.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name dhanbodu (MRS 1997), the general name for soldierfish. MRS calls it one of the commoner soldierfish in the Maldives.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Myripristis-vittata.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- fishbase.se /comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=6505&GenusName=Myripristis&SpeciesNam
- dv.wikipedia.org /wiki/ދަންބޮޑު
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Whitetip_Soldierfish_Hawaii.png
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Dhanbodu' (Latin form). FishBase (country: Maldives) agrees: 'Dhan bodu'. Thaana from the Dhivehi Wikipedia article 'ދަންބޮޑު' (derived from the MRS 1997 Dhivehi edition); it matches the Latin form.